Thread: Help needed!!!! - Oil warning light

Hey Stink,

i had this problem on my 98 300tdi, near the oil filter , it's part of the housing, there is the low oil level sensor, take the connector off and clean it this should should fix the problem in the short term, the spade connector that runs through the sensors become loose and oil seeps out around it and at low rpm this breaks the electrical circuit, when the revs build more amps connects the circuit!

you may need to fit a new sensor at some point, about $50 if i remember correctly, though i just cleaned mine every few weeks and it lasted about 1year before i replaced it!

hope that helps

Andy

What he said. My Tdi Defender's switch actually started weeping. Clean around the switch and also check the state of the wire going to it. I had to replace both the connector and the switch.

What them blokes said, but...

In the housing, just above the oil filter, is the switch they're talking about. It's actually an oil pressure switch, not a level switch. That's why it takes a few seconds to go off if the engine hasn't been started for many days or after replacing the oil filter - takes a few seconds to pump the oil around and pressurise the system.

As mentioned, you could try pulling the 1/4" spade wiring connector off the switch and cleaning the connector and the terminal on the switch. BUT, if this doesn't solve the problem, get the car to someone good with LRs because, if it really is low oil pressure, you may wreck your engine if it's not sorted out quick-smart.

By the way, I couldn't follow "I checked levels and had a physical level in the engine oil cap replaced that." Please explain???

Ian

yeah all the leaking pressure switch and failed pressure switch is good if its the case...


take it to a mechanics and have them fit a decent pressure gauge in place of the low oil sender and then check the actual pressure when its low...

in an old worn engine with an old worn pump with new oil you can have the pump out put so low that it cant maintain oil pressure, thicker oil will help in the short term, as will raising the idle speed, in the medium term overhauling the pump will help a little but at the end of the day the donk will need a rebearing.

if the pressure switch is on the way out and has started leaking in some instances the oil behind the bit of the switch that makes the light go out can raise the pressure required to get the light to go out.

generally with the exception of the engine not being started or an electrical failure of the switch, if the low oil pressure light is on your doing damage to the engine

hey, thanks for your replys!

I checked levels and had a physical level in the engine oil cap replaced that is meant to mean "I checked the levels and had a physical look inside the engine block through the fuller cap opening and then replaced that after i wipped it clean when i replaced it" must have had a big space out when i wrote that.

yeh, ill keep you all posted on how it goes.
Stink

I checked levels and had a physical level in the engine oil cap replaced that is meant to mean "I checked the levels and had a physical look inside the engine block through the fuller cap opening and then replaced that after i wipped it clean when i replaced it" must have had a big space out when i wrote that.

Is it me?
I still do not understand.
There is a thing on the side of the engine called a "DIP STICK". Did you remove it and check the level of oil on it?
Was it low when the oil light came on?
How much oil did you add?

Regards Philip A

fascinating thread....

in the 300tdi and for most engines of that era:

the oil indicator on the dash will light with the ignition ON if there is insufficient OIL PRESSURE....(not necessarily anything to do with oil quantity)

the engine sump dipstick will indicate if there is sufficent OIL QUANTITY...

TWO entirely different measures .....

... & I'm certainly not clear on whether it was pressure or quantity that caused the initial problem (or a poor electrical contact for that matter ... but the light did go off apparently)

my appologies to all on not replying,... Everything turned out okay after i checked the sensor and it didnt bother me again. BUT...

It started again just yesterday and again today at no throttle in drive or neutral. The oil was changed about 200klms ago. Oil level is full and theres a new oil filter.

Now i looked at the spade connection and its pretty grubby, so im going to clean that as a first step and see if it goes away again, what im worried about is that theres more of an underlying problem to it all.

In reply to a previous post: I went from pressure to quantity because the book / manual says check the oil level when this light comes on and it makes sense.

Cost wise the switch doesnt seem to expensive... unless i have underestimated the labour involved.

Is this something i should have looked at by a profesional?

Can i confirm that the next option is the pump? And after that would be a rebearing... what are we looking at the costs?